From the vibe I got living there, having the locals "accustomed" to westerners in the context of US military presence is probably worse than not being accustome

From the vibe I got living there, having the locals "accustomed" to westerners in the context of US military presence is probably worse than not being accustomed at all. Attitude to the US presence in japan is generally ambivalent at best, hostile resentment at worst. The other area familiarity with whiteys isn't exactly a positive is in some towns around Hokkaido. There, the experience is with russian fishermen, and the sentiment is clearly visible on signs by the door: "no foreigners". All that said, I never was that bothered by the mild xenophobia one experiences in Japan (and elsewhere in east asia). It's bemusing more than anything else. I would imagine that non-caucasians have it somewhat worse, though.